TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009

Sizer featured speaker at Karen Honig Memorial Lecture

BATON ROUGE, La. --Dr. Monteic A. Sizer, President and CEO of the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps, was the featured speaker at the 15th Karen Honig Memorial Lecture at the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Jane Addams College of Social Work on Tuesday afternoon.

Dr. Sizer’s speech, titled Deferred Dreams after Katrina: A Current Look at the Vulnerable Children and Families of Louisiana, described the current state of children and families in Louisiana and the various obstacles being faced during the recovery process by some of Louisiana’s most vulnerable populations.

“It is a great honor to be asked to take part in such a prestigious event,” said Sizer. “As we continue to work on behalf of the people of Louisiana, it is important that these very critical issues are raised, not only within the state but also on a national stage, for it is essential that the entire country understand the plight of our citizens still recovering and the efforts being made to advance and strengthen the systems and structures by which long-term human recovery will proceed.”

The Karen Honig Memorial Lecture was established by the family and friends of Ms. Honig to honor her memory and to focus upon her commitment to inner-city children and youth and their families.

In addition to the Karen Honig Memorial Lecture, Dr. Sizer recently addressed the National Commission on Children and Disasters in Washington D.C. and is being asked to speak across the nation on important issues relative to long-term human recovery, poverty, education, juvenile justice, healthcare, and other issues affecting the health and well-being of our state and nation.

Also, Dr. Sizer will be discussing the plight of thousands of Louisianians still recovering from hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike across the state this later this month, while also speaking about the need for Louisiana to establish a long-term human recovery plan that is coordinated across federal, state, and local governments and includes the non-profit sector.

ABOUT THE RECOVERY CORPS
The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation based in Baton Rouge, La., and formed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The Recovery Corps’ mission is to facilitate human recovery for the State of Louisiana in the aftermath of disaster, both natural and man-made. The Recovery Corps has partnered with human service and non-profit organizations throughout the state and the country to deliver assistance as effectively and efficiently as possible, allocating more than $80 million to recovery efforts and assisting more than 30,000 households since January 2006.